press release: media1press
The 2nd phase of inter-Libyan dialogue that began on March 20, 2015, in the town of Skhirate, a few south of the Moroccan capital Rabat, just concluded with important advances.
A first round had took place between March 5-7, 2015 in Morocco with the participation of delegations representing the House of representatives in Tobruk, the National General Congress (CGN), and Mesrata MPs that were boycotting the Tobruk Parliament, in addition to representatives of civil society and women’s organizations.
The inter-Libyan dialogue that took place in Morocco under the auspices of the United Nations Special Representative in the person of the UN Secretary General for Libya, Bernardino Leon, is the main matrix of Libya peace process due to the fact that it is dedicated to discussions on political and security aspects.
It includes the elected representatives of two warring camps who came together to draw the architecture of the future direction of the country and the cessation of hostile measures among the warring parties.
On the sidelines of this dialogue, other talks were held in Algeria, on March 10, 2015, among some leaders of political parties, and on March 23 and 24, 2015, among Heads of municipalities and local authorities. Those measures essentially aimed at strengthening Skhirate’s talks.
In statements to the press following a meeting with Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Libya Bernardino Leon, the representatives of the Libyan delegations said that Skhirate’s talks are in a very advanced stage, noting that a “quasi agreement” has been reached on the issues on the agenda, notably concerning political arrangements to form a national unity government.
For the first time, participants were able to agree on the architecture of the political leadership of the country which revolves around a national unity government, a presidency council headed by the proposed independent personalities by the two parties in conflict, a legislative instrument played by the current House of Representatives in Tobruk and a drafting committee of the constitution that will work on the development of constitutional texts.
For the first time, the belligerents agreed to put aside the main point of contention related to the legitimacy of one or the other chamber by the House of Representatives of Tobruk the country’s main legislative framework.
The Skhirate’s negotiations also helped to develop measures that impacted a critical point on the inter-Libyan conflict, namely the armed militias insofar as the Libyan parties present in Morocco have agreed to the principle of a relocation of militias outside urban centers and their gradual disarmament.
Finally, the participants agreed that the fight against terrorism particularly against the expansion of Daech, is vital for Libya and pledged to fight against this phenomenon.
Moroccan diplomacy has been very active to ease tensions and to bridge the views among the warring parties and it is thanks to this dynamic and perseverance of Morocco that the dialogue was able to achieve outstanding advances. European countries and the United States also contributed to the success of the resumption of this dialogue process.
The resumption of talks and finalization of the peace agreement in Libya is scheduled for the 2nd week of April 2015 in Skhirate.
